Clothes-prop line-fastener.



H. M. KRAUSER.

CLOTHES PROP LINE FASTENER- APPLICATION FILED Auam, 1914.

l 1 49,923 Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

WI T/VESSES Hosea M /f"dl/Jl j%/WM A TTOR/VEYS COLUMBIA PLANoflRAPl-l C0,, WASHINGTON, D. c.

an eerie.

HOSEA. M. KRAUSER, OF NOBBISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

cLoriins-rnoP LINE-FASTENEB.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, Hosea M. KRAUSER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Norristown, in the county of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Clothes-Prop Line-Fastener, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. I

This invention relates to improveinentsin clothes line props and more particularly to an improved fastener for securing the upper end of the prop to the clothes line, whereby disengagement of the prop from the line or vice versa with consequent releasing of the line from the notch of the prop and resultant falling of the clothes to come in contact with the ground, will be obviated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved clothes line prop fastener which may be applied to props of ordinary construction having the usual l -shaped notch in their upper ends and in which said fasteners are so constructed that the line may readily enter the narrow portion or crotch of the notch but will be prevented from disengaging therefrom under the influence of high winds or swaying of the line with the clothes but which will necessitate the manual releasing of the line.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention resides in the peculiar combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed, it being also an object to provide a device which is simple in construction, durable and efficient.

Reference is to be had to the accompany- 7 ing drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating a fragmentary portion of a clothes prop having its upper end provided with one form of the improved fastener; Fig. 2 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 1 looking toward'the left; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing another form of fastener; Fi g. e is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 8 with the upper portion of the prop broken away and shown in section; Fig. 5 is a perspectve view of a still further modified form of fastener.

Many fasteners provided to prevent dis- Specification of Letters Patent. Pai; nt dA g 10, 1 915 Application filed Aiigiistfll, 1914.

Seria1 No. 857,867.

these devices possessed the disadvantages of requiring sliding mechanism associated with the prop which might be very readily accidentally released or in which the line, whether it be of fabricor wire, would be likely to disengage itself from the fastener due to the instability of the latter and therefore its likelihood of breaking or getting out of order.

The present invention is devised to overcome these objections, and in illustrating the application thereof the upper portion 10 of an ordinary clothes prop is shown having a notch 11 in its upper end. This notch is usually of V-shape', as shown, and the line is adapted to enter into the crotch portion 12 thereof from which it is designed to be held from displacement. The improved fa's- 'tener provided for this purpose comprises a single section of wire or resilient metal bent intermediate its ends to provide an upper connecting bight portion 13 of a slightly greater length thanthe width of the prop so as to straddle the latter and dispose the side portions lit at rightangles to the bight portion 13. The side portions adjacent 'to the bight are curved to extend at angle across the notch and are then 'reben't, as shown at 15, to provide depending projections to prevent displacement of the line therefrom and beneath oppositely curved or the like 18, preferably so wound as to dispose the side portions there-above at a spaced distance from theside faces 19. of the prop, as shown at 20, whereby the upper portion of the fastener will have free movement. Suitable fastening devices are loosely engaged through the coils and secured to the prop to permit said spring coils to resiliently act there-around and said fastening devices are indicated as screws 21 for purposes of illustration. From these screws the free ends or extremities 22 of the strand or side portions of the fastener depend and these extremities are anchored to the sides of the prop to have slight relative movement, as by means ofthe engagement of staples 23 therewith. In this manner when the line 24 is engaged between the upper portion of the fastener and the wall 17, the fastener may be forced to the left to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 due to the resiliency of the fastener and thereby permit the line to pass into the crotch of the notch under the portion .15 and beneath the curvedportions 16 andthereby held from the exception that the bight portion instead of being disposed at right angles to the side portions, is provided with curved sides 25 gradually narrowing toward the bight portion so as to contactwith the edges of the adjacent wall of the notch of the prop, while the upper portion of thefastenenas shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is adapted to clear said side portions. In both instances, however, the upper portions are located substantially wholly within the notch and are thereby protected from injury should the prop fall to'the ground, as distinguished from other devices employing fasteners which project from the upper ends of the props or are located at one side only. In this form of the v invention the extremities of the fastenerare also anchored by means of suitable fastening devices in the form of screws 26 in lieu of being straddled by staples as shown in Figs. .1 and 2, but these screws are loosely engaged through coils 27 at said extremities so that they are not absolutely rigid and thus added resiliency is given to the upper portion of the fastener.'

In Fig. 5 of the drawings the fastener is the same as that described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 except that instead of anchoring the lower ends by means of a staple or similar fastener, said extremities are provided with inwardly directed points or prongs 28 adapted to be lightly driven into the wood so as to allow the necessary resiliency to attain the objects heretofore referred to, due to the points or prongs working loose while still held fromoutward displacement by the screws or fasteners 21. This form of fastener will actuate the same as that described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 but bind against the edges of the opposed walls ofthe notch at the crotch thereof to be more securely held from displacement, and it is also stated that the size of the line is immaterial as to the operation described, so that c any size line, whether wire or rope, will be positively held from displacement without requiring any special construction of prop.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A clothes prop fastener adapted for use with a prop having a notch in its upper end, comprising a single section of resilient metal bent intermediate its ends to provide a bight portion and sides extending therefrom, said sides cooperating with one wall of the notch to provide an entrance portion and being rebent upwardly and downwardly to provide retaining portions, the upper portions of said sides being curved away from said wall of the notch and over said retaining portions, said sides beingbent to form coils whereby the upper portion of the fastener is rendered resilient with the sides spaced from the sides of the prop, means engaged through the coils for anchoring the fastener to the propv and means at the lower ends of the side portions of the fastener to additionally anchor the same to the prop and permit resilient movement of the upper, portion from the coils upward.

2. A fastener for clothes props having a V-notch, comprising a resilient member straddling the prop and notch thereof spaced betweenthe walls ofthe latter and having an upper portion cooperating with one wall of the notch to provide a flaring entrance opening, a curved portion providing a. downwardlyopening notch partially off center with respect to the crotch of the notch in the prop and a portion depending therefrom to be resiliently anchored to the prop to dispose the upper portion adjacent to the notch therein.

3. A clothes line fastener adapted for use with a prop having a notch in its upper end, comprising a section of resilient metal bent intermediate its ends to provide a bight portion and sides extending therefrom at the sides of the prop with which the ends of the notch communicate, said sides cooperating with one wall of the notch to provide an entrance portion and being rebent upwardly and downwardly to provide retaining portions with projections overlying the sides of the prop, and means to anchor the extremities of the sides of the fastener to the opposed faces of the prop about midway of the width thereof.

4. A fastener for clothes props having a V-notoh, comprising a resilient member straddling the prop and notch thereof at spaced points between the walls of the latter said resilient member having a curved upper portion cooperating with one wall of the notch to provide a flaring entrance opening, curved portions providing downwardly opening notches and prongs depending therefrom to be resiliently anchored to the prop to dispose the upper portion adjacent to the notch therein.

5. A clothes prop line fastener having a clothes line receiving notch comprising a Copies of this patent may be obtained for section of resilient material having a curved upper 'bight portion with sides located in proximity to and equidistantly from one side of the notch, said studs projecting downwardly over the opposite faces of the prop, said section having a bottom concavity and means to anchor the lower portion of the fastener of the prop to the sides thereof with which the ends of the notch communicate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- HOSEA M. KRAUSER. Witnesses:

WILLIAM G. LANnIs,

DANILL H. OLARLEs.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

